Andrei Codrescu and the Myth of America

"This is one of those times, a time choked in the weeds of academic and civilian formalism. To put it mildly, most of what we see in print in North America is unbearably trivial and singularly devoid of courage."--Andrei Codrescu, The Disappearance of the Outside.

Known to the general public as a radio commentator on National Public Radio, Romanian-born essayist and poet Andrei Codrescu has developed a variety of voices throughout his career: Transylvanian humorist on NPR, surrealist poet in his many volumes of poetry, academic essayist in his philosophical writings and historical novelist. Taking seemingly everyday events in seemingly mundane places, Codrescu is able to link the random details into a larger whole, leading his readers and listeners to conclusions very different from those they first imagined. This work explores Codrescu's writings and how they are a part of the surrealist tradition. It examines the ways in which his poetry, essays and novels are influenced by his upbringing in Communist Romania and the liberal attitudes he encountered upon moving to the United States, and draws comparisons between Codrescu and other surrealists. An interview with the author is also included.

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Andrei Codrescu and the Myth of America

"This is one of those times, a time choked in the weeds of academic and civilian formalism. To put it mildly, most of what we see in print in North America is unbearably trivial and singularly devoid of courage."--Andrei Codrescu, The Disappearance of the Outside.

Known to the general public as a radio commentator on National Public Radio, Romanian-born essayist and poet Andrei Codrescu has developed a variety of voices throughout his career: Transylvanian humorist on NPR, surrealist poet in his many volumes of poetry, academic essayist in his philosophical writings and historical novelist. Taking seemingly everyday events in seemingly mundane places, Codrescu is able to link the random details into a larger whole, leading his readers and listeners to conclusions very different from those they first imagined. This work explores Codrescu's writings and how they are a part of the surrealist tradition. It examines the ways in which his poetry, essays and novels are influenced by his upbringing in Communist Romania and the liberal attitudes he encountered upon moving to the United States, and draws comparisons between Codrescu and other surrealists. An interview with the author is also included.

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Andrei Codrescu and the Myth of America

Andrei Codrescu and the Myth of America

by Kirby Olson
Andrei Codrescu and the Myth of America

Andrei Codrescu and the Myth of America

by Kirby Olson

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Overview

"This is one of those times, a time choked in the weeds of academic and civilian formalism. To put it mildly, most of what we see in print in North America is unbearably trivial and singularly devoid of courage."--Andrei Codrescu, The Disappearance of the Outside.

Known to the general public as a radio commentator on National Public Radio, Romanian-born essayist and poet Andrei Codrescu has developed a variety of voices throughout his career: Transylvanian humorist on NPR, surrealist poet in his many volumes of poetry, academic essayist in his philosophical writings and historical novelist. Taking seemingly everyday events in seemingly mundane places, Codrescu is able to link the random details into a larger whole, leading his readers and listeners to conclusions very different from those they first imagined. This work explores Codrescu's writings and how they are a part of the surrealist tradition. It examines the ways in which his poetry, essays and novels are influenced by his upbringing in Communist Romania and the liberal attitudes he encountered upon moving to the United States, and draws comparisons between Codrescu and other surrealists. An interview with the author is also included.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780786421374
Publisher: McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date: 04/13/2005
Pages: 216
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.43(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Kirby Olson is associate professor of humanities at the State University of New York in Delhi. He is the editor of To Wit: Official Newsletter of the American Humor Studies Association.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     
Mirror, Mirror: A Foreword by Andrei Codrescu     
Preface     
Introduction: Codrescu/Benjamin: Surreal Urbanism     

1. Communes/Suburbs: The ’60s     
2. Postmodernism/The State: Nietzsche     
3. Poetry/Politics: Codrescu as Surrealist Citizen?     
4. Paradoxes/Linearity: Codrescu’s Ars Vita     
5. Fun/Work: Fourier’s City     
6. Variety/Uniformity: Detroit’s Demise     
7. Paris/Las Vegas: Road Scholar     
8. Joy/Philosophy: Nietzsche in Detroit     
9. Outside/Inside: Polis/Police     
10. Poetry/Oedipus: The Investigative Poets     
11. Edward Sanders/Charles Manson: The Family     
12. Good/Evil: Ceausescu     
13. Surrealism/Protestantism: The Blood Countess     
14. Messiah/Messiah: The Return of Paganism     
15. Codrescu/Codrescu: Conclusion     

Appendix A: Andrei Codrescu from a Romanian: Viewpoint, by Roxana Maria Crisan     
Appendix B: Five Interviews with Codrescu     
Appendix C: Works by Codrescu     
General Bibliography     
Index     

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Andrei Codrescu

“This is one of those times, a time choked in the weeds of academic and civilian formalism. To put it mildly, most of what we see in print in North America is unbearably trivial and singularly devoid of courage.”
—,The Disappearance of the Outside.

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